


Relax

by slamncram (GettheSalt)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bathing/Washing, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thorki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 05:29:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13451523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GettheSalt/pseuds/slamncram
Summary: Just because they're working hard on making sure that the Asgardians will be well cared for and have a home when they get to Earth is no excuse. Thor knows that Loki likes his creature comforts, so he really shouldn't have to argue him into washing his hair. If he has to make the experience all that much more enjoyable for him, he will.





	Relax

**Author's Note:**

> A few weeks back, I saw someone make a post that asked why there wasn't a fic where Thor washed Loki's greasy hair, and the idea just stuck with me. It took me a while, but out of that, came this. A fic where Thor washes Loki's greasy-ass hair. I wish I could remember who it was who made the post, but I just hope that they see it here or on Tumblr, and enjoy.

Thor could understand that, while he’d been masquerading as Odin, Loki would have had his choice of pampering. He would have been able to keep himself clean, relaxed and taken care of in the way people in Midgard would have to spent hundreds of dollars to achieve. That, also, was pretty much in line with what Thor had witnessed when he’d returned to Asgard and found Loki impersonating their father, having assumed the throne. 

Loki was nothing if not a hedonist, when the chance was given to him, and he enjoyed his creature comforts when he had the chance.

And, the thing was,  _just_ because they were on a ship, out and space, Loki didn’t actually have a reason  _not_  to be enjoying his creature comforts. They had been on the Statesman for a while, now, and Sakaar, before that, had apparently not been the place for it, but Loki’s excuses were running out.

“I know you’ve been taking care of it, at least somewhat.” Thor sighed, trying to resist the urge to bodily fling Loki into the room they were heading towards. “Remember how it was in New York? I don’t know if you actually  _looked_  at yourself, but you didn’t exactly  _look_  like the brother I’d lost. Your hair was so greasy it was like... have you seen a creature they call on Earth a porcupine, Loki?”

Loki scowled at him, but he wasn’t really trying to slip away. Since they’d escaped Sakaar and then rescued the Asgardians, Loki had been helping Thor to make sure that everything was taken care of for their people, and they would have a plan of action once they made it to Earth. Thor understood that it was time consuming work, and that, given the chance, Loki could tend to himself with just as much excessive care, but...

“It’s not that bad. And, listen, if I take a step in there, and  _clean myself up_  like you keep saying, you’re not going to see me for the rest of the day.” Loki’s scowl was slowly fading, becoming something Thor was more accustomed to, coming from him: a smirk. “And you seem to have gotten used to having me around all the time.”

“Yes.” Thor agreed, pushing open the door to the large bathroom he’d claimed for himself. He pulled Loki through after him, and shut the door, flicking the latch that served as the lock. “I have. But, I thought we could both use the time off. Time away from the meetings and discussions.”

Loki’s smirk faltered. He didn’t seem  _scared_  or even upset, but Thor could tell that he was trying to find issue with this. Ever since they had reunited, Loki had been working to be the person that could be at Thor’s side, as King of Asgard. That didn’t mean his nature had changed, however, and if he could find a slight in this, he would. The blow-up would be fantastic.

“You’re going to just... lounge around in here while I bathe and wash my hair and do whatever else?” He finally asked, suspicious notes in his voice.

Thor shrugged, and moved to start taking off his clothing. If one of them didn’t take the initiative, here, neither of them would; Loki was too busy looking for an ulterior motive where there wasn’t one. Thor didn’t have a problem with being honest about why he was here, and why he wanted this, but, after the time they had spent back together, again, and the fact that the people as Asgard were starting to look to Loki as their king’s consort, he wasn’t willing to bluntly state it.

He kept hoping that Loki would accept his reasons for being here without being told, outright, that this was where Thor wanted to be.

After a moment, Loki moved, beginning to undress himself. He seemed fine to do that with an explanation from Thor, and that felt like a step forward. With an approving nod, Thor moved over to the large tub, and started the water running, checking the temperature before finishing undressing himself. Once he was done, without checking to see that Loki was following, he stepped up and over, into the warm, soothing water, and sunk down into it until it was ringing his shoulders. Still not looking Loki’s way, he tipped his head back against the edge of the tub, and closed his eye, sighing, letting the warm water seep into his bones.

Yes, there was a definite benefit in getting Loki into this room, and that came from the satisfaction of knowing that Loki’s hair would be clean, and the long wavy tendrils of his hair would be soft to the touch, a bonus for many of their after-meeting activities.

But Thor wasn’t about to pretend that he wasn’t enjoying the feeling, either. It had been a long time, since long before Sakaar, that he’d gotten to relax like this, himself. Doing it so often lately - that being more than once in a few  _months_  - felt like being spoiled. 

The sound and sensation of the water in the other end of the tub moving alerted Thor that Loki was joining him, and a few seconds after, the water was turned off. That was for the best, because when Thor opened his eye, again, he couldn’t miss that the water had risen dangerously close to the edge of the basin, with the two of them in it. Loki was sitting across from him, studying him carefully. Still trying to figure out what this was.

Thor sighed, and shifted until he was sitting up properly, noting how the water sloshed towards the edge of the tub. Maybe he’d let it get too full, but he couldn’t worry about that now. Reaching for one of the bottles at the tub’s side, he gestured at Loki.

“Turn around. Back up. Come here. Oh, and wet your hair for me.”

Loki stilled, like he’d found the issue in this, but wasn’t sure it was  _actually_  an issue. “I can wash my own hair, Thor.”

“Yes, I know, but you  _haven’t_ , have you?” Thor shot back, his tone bright even if his words were meant to be teasing. “Just let me do it, all right? I promise, I’m not trying to make your hair fall out, or change colours, or anything.”

Loki relaxed, and Thor didn’t bother hiding his smile. He’d expected more of a fight, but that, really, wasn’t the way Loki was all the time, anymore. Something about his time ruling Asgard, and the little chat they’d had while he’d been on his back in the hangar on Sakaar seemed to have mellowed him out. That, and the position he now held with Thor must have had some kind of effect. After everything that had happened between them the last few years, Thor wouldn’t so readily believe that Loki would trust him.

Uncapping the bottle, Thor poured a liberal amount of shampoo into his hands, looking up to watch the way Loki poured water over his own head, using the shell-shaped dish that had been next to the bottles Thor had picked from. He’d missed him, dearly. Yes, he’d thought Loki dead, again, well and truly this time, and to find out that otherwise was true had hurt in a way Thor hadn’t been rightly prepared for. But, Loki was here, now. He wasn’t out to break Thor’s trust, and he wasn’t about to fake his own death, again. He had what he, by his own admission all those years ago, had wanted; he was Thor’s equal.

When Loki finally moved across the tub, sliding between Thor’s legs, with his back to him, Thor was ready. He waited until Loki stopped moving, but in the next instant, he had his hands in Loki’s wet hair, working shampoo down to his scalp, slow and careful. There was no mistaking the hitch of Loki’s breath, or the way he reached out with one hand, under the water, to curl his fingers around Thor’s ankle.

“Oh, so you like this?”

Loki’s voice was quiet when he replied, with none of his normal bite. “Shut up... You planned on this the whole time...” Leaning forward and to the side, slightly, Thor could see that Loki’s eyes were shut, clearly enjoying this. “Where did  _you_  learn this? I was expecting pulling, just slapping it on and ‘ _there, rinse!_ ’”

Thor laughed, quiet, but it echoed around the room, surrounding them. “Honestly? From you. Did you think I had forgotten everything before you crashed my Coronation?”

Loki made a sound of protest, but Thor shushed him. Both vocally, and by massaging his fingertips into Loki’s scalp. The fingers around his ankle tightened for a second, and Loki sighed, and Thor continued.

“I know you didn’t. You wouldn’t remember how much I like that thing you do with your tongue, if you had. I just like to remind you. Not everything between us was distrust, was it?”

It was a moment before Loki answered. Thor had gone quiet, letting him think about his answer, moving on to rinsing the lather from Loki’s inky black hair with the same dish Loki had used to wet it. “Of course not. These past few years have been... rough.”

“To say the least.” Thor agreed, smiling, guiding Loki to tip his head back so he could rinse the rest of his hair.

“But I think I’ve learned. I’m learning.” Loki corrected. “My jealousy, my envy, my... rather blind ambition. They all edged between us. Along with a few other things. Your hatred of Frost Giants, and our trip to Jotunheim all working out so well with me discovering my true parentage  _did_  make it a little difficult to trust anything between us. And...”

Loki didn’t need to say it. Jane. The one that Thor had turned to, when he’d been sure he could never go home, could never go back to the world he’d known. It had always seemed like that sort of thing would happen anyway. It didn’t matter how much he loved Loki, or how good things were when they were together, there had never seemed a chance for the two of them, once Thor was King, once he needed to take a queen.

How the times had changed.

“Well, that’s all in the past.” Thor assured Loki, running his fingers through his now clean hair. “ _You_  are here now,  _you_  are my consort, and,” he leaned back, pulling Loki back with him, until he was settled against his chest. Loki’s long fingers drifted over the surface of the water, pads of his fingertips running over the skin of Thor’s thigh against his side, and the moment was so peaceful that Thor nearly decided against his next words. “You’re no longer a walking ball of grease.”

Loki moved to get up, but Thor wrapped his arm around his shoulders, laughing and pulling him back, before kissing his wet hair. It was almost funny, the way Loki relaxed again, but Thor wouldn’t point that out. It would start a fight, and this moment was too right.

“Do I need to remind you what you looked like when you got back to Asgard? You looked like something a cat spat up. Your hair was in more mats than I would have thought possible.”

Thor grinned against Loki’s hair, and murmured, “it did. Does it make you feel better to point it out?”

Loki’s laugh was music to Thor’s ears. “Yes!”

Pressing another kiss to Loki’s hair, and then one to his temple, Thor smiled.

“Good.”


End file.
